


5 times Tony called Peter by a nickname and 1 time Peter did in return

by punkybunny



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Embarrassment, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Men Crying, Nicknames, Nightmares, No Romance, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Whump, Pneumonia, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Sick Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, i literally can only write fluff guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25039429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkybunny/pseuds/punkybunny
Summary: Basically the title! I love how many different nicknames Tony calls Peter in fanfics so I'm writing a story that combines my favorite nicknames and the progression of their father-son relationship :)
Relationships: Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 48
Kudos: 490





	1. Underoos

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'd like to start off with saying that if u ship starker, pls leave, ya nasty! thx xoxo
> 
> So every chapter is going to be connected, with Peter and Tony slowly opening up and eventually seeing eachother as family. This story incorporates my love for cute nicknames + Irondad and Spiderson :)))!! Oh and I have all the chapters planned out (with the next two already written), so I should be updating fairly quickly! 
> 
> I think that's all? Pls enjoy! <3

Peter had been excited since he woke up to his alarm going off that morning, the shrill noise doing nothing to dampen his spirits. Today was a Friday, which meant that May had an overnight shift at the hospital and Peter would be spending the night at the Tower. This weekly routine was fairly new so the teen still found himself hardly able to wait until after his afternoon patrol when he could swing over to the Tower and work with Tony in his lab. 

That developement was also new; it's been a couple months since Homecoming and Peter had spent more and more time working with Tony in his lab as an actual intern/mentee. The teen sometimes still couldn't quite believe it but at least his mindset wasn't the same as the kid who worshipped Tony months ago. They were on equal ground much more often, even if the older man could be very overprotective and generally distrusting of Peter's ability to keep himself safe.

"Peter, there is an illegal deal of some sort taking place a couple blocks away. Shall I direct you?" Peter was jolted out of thoughts by Karen's chirpy voice. 

"Sure, Karen!" He responded, swinging from building to building. "Let's go!" 

Peter was surprised to find the deal going on in broad daylight, even if it was taking place behind an abandoned building, no civilians, other than the two men dealing, in sight. 

Peter quickly assessed the situation with Karen, his confidence pretty high since he has lots of experience breaking up deals such as this one. 

Webbing shot out of his suit as he leaped down in front of the two men, quickly and effectively sticking one of them to the wall behind the man. Noticing that the other guy wasn't where he was a second ago and must have dodged his webs, Peter got into a fighting stance, glancing around. 

His spidey sense went off too late, providing Peter with only a second to realize someone had snuck up behind him, before a knife was stabbed into his side. The teen hissed at the stinging sensation and whipped around to twist the criminal's wrist, the rather small knife clattering to the ground, as he webbed up the man. 

'Okay,' Peter thought, swinging away, and occasionally stopping to examine his wound. 'That was easy. And it's only a scratch.' 

The stab wound was actually relatively small and not too deep. Peter wasn't too worried about it, knowing his healing would fix it up in no time. He's gotten a lot larger stab wounds before (don't tell May or Mr. Stark), so this was really nothing. He would just clean out the wound, cover it with bandages, and wait for it to heal like he always did. 

A look at the skyline showed that it was about time to head to the Tower for the evening, so Peter began swinging in that direction, very pointedly ignoring Karen's concerned-sounding remarks about his wound. He didn't want anyone to worry about him; he was Spider-Man and that meant he could take care of his own wounds.

\---

When he arrived at the Tower he climbed up to the penthouse floor, making sure the coast was clear, and then quietly swung in through the window. Originally Peter had been staying in the guest room on this floor every Friday. But over time the room slowly became 'Peter's room', his Star Wars posters hung up on the walls, a desk covered in his books and current projects, and the floor and bed littered in an array of blankets and clothes. Peter still couldn't believe he had his own room on the same floor as Tony's but the genius had claimed it made sense considering he only came to the Tower to work in his lab just a floor below. 

Peter slipped off his mask and made a dash for his room, hoping to arrive there without running into his mentor. He really did not want the man worrying about him, especially since Tony had made it his sworn duty after Homecoming to keep the kid monitored and safe. Peter assumed it was because of some sort of guilt he felt over taking the teen's suit away, even though Peter continued to remind him that he didn't hold any grudges from that night. 

The teen was only a couple feet from his room, when a voice called out from behind him, "Hey, kid, wanna explain to me why you're bleeding all over my floor?" 

Peter stopped, cringed, and slowly turned around to see the trail of blood he had left across the living room floor and hallway. Well, so much for sneaking to his room. 

His hand clamped over the stab wound in an effort to conceal and stop the dripping of blood. Hesitantly, after a couple tense seconds, he spared a glance up to meet his mentor's eyes, narrowed with barely-concealed worry. "M-Mr. Stark, it's just a scratch! It's fine," Peter stuttered out, his gaze drifting to the floor apologetically. 

"It's fine?" Tony asked incredulously, stepping closer to the teen. "I highly doubt that, Pete." 

Peter looked up at him again and saw the man's eyebrows furrow. Peter pressed his hand firmer against the wound, as though he could make it disappear. But all he did was cause a new wave of stinging pain to roll up his side, the teen hardly suppressing a hiss of pain. "Kid, let me see," his mentor instructed, now standing in front of Peter with his hand slightly outstretched. 

Peter hesitated for a good couple seconds, his gaze shifting around the room to find an escape, a frown tugging on his lips. He really did not want his mentor to worry about him, it wasn't a big deal. Surely Mr. Stark had more important things to do than tending to Spider-man's tiny stab wounds. 

But eventually Peter slowly let his hand fall away and he watched as Tony lowered his gaze to the wound that was gradually oozing out blood. The man opened his mouth to say something, but Peter hurriedly blurted out, "It really doesn't hurt that much! And you know how quick my healing is, Mr. Stark." 

Tony sighed and raised an eyebrow at him, before guiding the teen over to the elevator and - Peter assumed - the medbay. "You got stabbed, Peter. It doesn't matter if you're Spider-Man, you need to get it looked at by a doctor." After a pause, he added, "Maybe I'll need to have Karen inform me of when you get hurt from now on, if you're too stubborn to come to me for help." 

When Peter only responded with a huff and a pout as they both entered the elevator, Tony's gaze softened. "Hey, kid?" 

His mentor waited for the teen to look up at him, even if his gaze was indignant. Tony set a reassuring hand on his shoulder and Peter involuntarily felt his stance untense. "I just wish you would trust me enough to tell me when you're hurt, okay?" 

Peter blinked up at him and then nodded, unable to argue with the sincerity in his mentor's tone. "I do trust you," he muttered and paused, planning what he was going to say next. "I just… I don't want to worry you? It's not a big deal, Mr. Stark."

Tony shook his head firmly. "Nope. Nu-uh. It is a big deal to me, Underoos." 

Peter stared at the other man in shock for a moment, before smiling at the ground. He let those words replay in his head as the elevator descended. That nickname always filled him with warmth, reminding him of when he first met Mr. Stark. It was nice to know that it was reserved only for him. 

And, well, as he thought about their conversation, he realized maybe it wasn't so bad to know that his mentor wanted him safe.


	2. Petey Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank u for the kudos, comments, and bookmarks! Here's chapter 2!

"Dude, why are you even at school? You should go to the nurse's," Ned whispered to him, his eyes full of worry for his friend. 

Peter was recovering from a bad case of pneumonia. All week he had been bedridden with a nasty cough and a fever that had fluctuated throughout the day. Some mornings he would wake up feeling better (except for his chest and throat), but then when evening rolled around the fever would return and he was left barely coherent.

May took time off from work to care for him and when the fifth day came around, Peter believed he was feeling much better. He managed to convince May to return to the hospital she was a nurse at and allow him to return to school.

Peter knew May wanted to go back to work; it was where she felt the most helpful. So overall it seemed like a good idea. And they needed the money. It was a Friday anyway, so keeping with their routine, the teen would spend the night at the Tower, whether he began feeling sick again or not. And Tony was aware of Peter's illness, so she didn't have to worry about a thing. 

Throughout the day he had been coughing intensely, but that was to be expected: he knew he hadn't completely recovered and coughing was a big part of pneumonia. Peter brought a water bottle with him to all his classes, and it helped at least a little. 

When lunch came around, Peter felt more sluggish, a dull ache returning to his head. He slumped down next to Ned in the cafeteria and picked at his food. The teen definitely did not have an appetite right now. So he just continued sipping his water. 

When a heat began to flush his cheeks red and his coughing attacks started lasting minutes, Peter groaned and hid his face in his arms. That's when his friend asked him why he was at school, and well, Peter began to wonder that himself. 

"I thought I was feeling better," Peter croaked, a small set of coughs wracking his form. 

"Are you gonna try to make it through the rest of the day?" Ned looked nervously at him. "I really think you should go home."

Peter buried his burning face back into his arms. "I know, but it's just a couple more hours. Besides," he frowned, taking a quick sip of water to soothe his dry throat, "Mr. Stark is probably busy." 

Ned's eyes widened almost comically and he leaned in to whisper, as though telling a precious secret. "He's your emergency contact? I knew you guys had been hanging out more, but - wow." 

Peter shrugged. "I mean, May's my first contact, but she's at work. And he's probably working on something now too, so I won't bother him." 

Ned seemed to think about that, nodding in agreement, but then he said, "Well, if you need to go to the nurse, don't hold yourself back. I'm sure he wouldn't mind picking you up."

Peter was about to respond when he was interrupted by a violent cough fit. This was gonna be a rough next couple hours. 

\---

When English rolled around, Peter's coughs lasted longer and no amount of water seemed to help. He felt hot and cold at the same time, his mind unable to focus. Not to mention his head was spinning which resulted in the teen more often than not pressing his forehead against his desk, wishing to fully lay down. 

His teacher had been giving him looks the whole period, obviously at least partly aware of his status. Eventually it seemed to be too much for her to just ignore, so she walked over to his desk while the students were working on a writing assignment. "Peter," she spoke leaning down to address the sick teen. "I think you should go to the nurse's and get a ride home."

Peter's head shot up, and he blurted, "But I'm-"

"Nope," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I can tell how sick you are. There's no use denying it. Now go on now." She motioned for him to get up, before sliding a worksheet on his desk. "Here's tonight's homework." 

Peter sighed in defeat, not bothering to argue with his teacher. He was incredibly tired, and it would be a relief to let himself rest. "Thanks," he mumbled. 

She patted him on the shoulder as the boy packed up. "Get better, Peter." He nodded, glancing over to see Ned from across the room giving him a relieved smile. 

When Peter arrived at the nurse's office, he realized that he'd have to call Tony to pick him up. The man had never had to go to his school before, not to mention he probably didn't even know how exactly to get there. It would certainly be a weird experience.

After informing the nurse of his situation (whilst trying not to cough between every word), Peter sat down amongst the other students who were waiting to be picked up. 

From the corner of his eye the teen saw the nurse raise an eyebrow at his contact info before shrugging and entering Mr. Stark's number into the phone. Peter could see the look of surprise on her face when Tony answered on the other line, but he didn't pay attention to the conversation, feeling suddenly lightheaded. His fever was really starting to get to the teenager, causing a sense of fatigue to accumulate. He coughed harshly into his elbow, the loud noise in the otherwise fairly quiet room making him cringe. 

It occured to Peter as he drifted in and out of awareness, that Tony probably wouldn't even be picking him up. It was far more likely that Happy would, the man usually the one to deliver Peter from place to place in Tony's stead. Peter felt a pang of disappointment at that thought. 

After what felt like forever, Peter's only bit of comfort being the thought of laying down and sleeping, a familiar voice in the doorway called out, "Petey pie?" 

Every set of eyes in the room looked to Peter, the boy flushing as red as a tomato. Tony Stark stood in the doorway of the nurse's office, wearing an expensive pair of sunglasses and an even more expensive suit, and grinned his way. 

Some students gaped at the two, while others just stared, and one of the girls waiting to be picked up tried to hide her laughter behind her hand. Peter felt even more embarrassment flood his system as he stared at his mentor in shock. 

At the teen's lack of a response, Tony chuckled and called out, "Well, come on, Petey pie. Don't leave me waiting." 

Peter abruptly stood up, ignoring the way his vision flooded black for a second, before he shuffled over to Tony. The ground looked really interesting right about now. 

Tony went over to quickly sign Peter out, and then he set a hand on his back as they walked out, which really didn't do much to quell the kid's embarrassment. 

Peter looked up at his mentor with a pout when they exited the building, muttering, "Mr. Stark, how could you?" 

The older man chuckled, ruffling the kid's hair. "Sorry, Pete, you're just so much fun to tease. You looked like a tomato!" As they approached the car, he examined the teen's face, and pressed a rough hand to his forehead. "Which, by the way, you still kinda do. Just how sick are you, kid?" 

Without answering, Peter slumped into the passenger seat, and crossed his arms indignantly. When Tony walked around and settled himself behind the wheel, he noticed and smirked. "Are you still angry at me? You gotta agree, it was a little funny. Did you see the other students' faces?" The genius laughed loudly. 

Peter curled in on himself, feeling so absolutely sick and exhausted. He really was not in the mood for any sort of teasing. When he thought back to the way that girl had laughed at him, he felt a new wave of embarrassment wash over him, tears stinging his eyes. 

He quickly wiped at them, ashamed of himself and hoping Mr. Stark hadn't noticed. But he was too late because he heard the man quietly curse under his breath. "Oh, kid, I'm sorry. I…," Tony floundered for a second, clearly not knowing how to handle this situation. 

Peter looked up at him then and when their eyes met a flash of guilt crossed Tony's face at the sight of the kid, sniffling and sweating from a fever. "I shouldn't have embarrassed you, Pete. Especially when you're sick." 

The kid shrugged then, murmuring, "It's alright." He couldn't suppress a sigh of content when his mentor reached over to comb a hand through his sweaty curls. His anger had dissipated, the boy too exhausted to care all that much and now all he wanted was to get to the Tower and sleep."I'm just tired." 

"I know, kid," Tony muttered softly, before turning on the car and driving. Peter noticed the way he drove more smoothly than he normally did and occasionally turned his head to fix the teen with a worried look. It occurred to him that his mentor had never seen him this sick before, and probably had next to no clue how to approach the situation. It brought back memories of the first time Uncle Ben had to take care of him when he was sick. The man had been awkward and nervous, but a comforting presence in his time of need nonetheless. Mr. Stark reminded Peter of those memories as he fumbled to ensure the teen's comfort. 

But honestly Tony did a good job by just showing his concern and sometimes reaching over to pat Pete's messy curls. Right now that's all the kid needed.

Eventually Peter felt his eyelids grow heavy, so he rested his hot face against the cool window and let himself rest until the drive was over. 

\--- 

When he woke up, it was to Mr. Stark shaking his shoulder and announcing that they had arrived at the Tower. Peter leaned against Tony for support as they made their way in and settled on a sofa in the penthouse.

He quickly passed out, his face pressed against a pillow, only to be awoken again to Tony fussing over him quietly. He awkwardly adjusted some blankets around the teen's frame and handed him a bowl of soup. 

"I made it myself," his mentor remarked, smiling smugly. 

It was good, very hot and a little bland, but Peter appreciated the effort. 

The evening was spent watching some bad rom com that happened to be playing on TV. The teen drifted in and out of consciousness, listening to Tony ramble about how unrealistic the show was. Sometimes he would go silent and if Pete's eyes were open he would probably see the man giving him a worried look before asking if he needed anything.

Peter fell asleep that night to Tony's hand carding through his hair as he leaned on the man's shoulder and occasionally took sips of water. The rest of the weekend went by similarly, and it was relieving to know he had Tony to rely on through it all. Even when he coughed nonstop against his mentor's side, the man didn't move away and instead silently passed him a cough drop. It was nice.

He was back at school feeling better than ever on Monday.


	3. Bug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day cuz I'm impatient and I have most of the story already written! Also I'm proud of this chapter a lot :)  
> Enjoy!! <3

The bright light of his phone stung Peter's eyes as he scrolled through social media late on Saturday night. He was in bed in his room at the Tower. The teenager had been spending more time there lately, less nervous about intruding or bothering Tony. May seemed to have no issue with it as long as Peter texted her his whereabouts beforehand and didn't stay up too late.

He planned to stay over this whole weekend because of a project he was working on with Mr. Stark that involved the boy's suit. Earlier that day they were tinkering away in the lab, but Peter's work was cut short when his mentor announced that it was the kid's bedtime. 

Peter yawned wide and shut off his phone, curling up in his plush blankets. He decided it was a good idea to go to sleep earlier than usual so he could wake up before noon for once and get back to the lab. 

\---

Peter was swinging across Queen as Spider-man, the sky above him a tranquil blue. The birds were chirping brightly and the ground below was filled with friendly chatter. The hero waved at civilians as he passed them, and in return they would smile wide and call out, "Good morning, Spider-man!" He was even offered a hotdog or two.

Overall, it was nice and Peter felt content, the lack of crime a large contributor. Him and Karen shared a short, pleasant conversation as he swung.

Suddenly it got very dark, and Peter looked up, expecting to see a cloud passing over the sun. Instead he saw a red figure flying through the sky, higher than Peter could swing. 

'Is that Mr. Stark?' Peter wondered, attempting to climb higher to speak to his mentor. But when he looked ahead, all the buildings were low, the tallest maybe only had 20 stories. There's no way he could reach him!

Peter huffed and sped up to catch up to the rapidly shrinking red dot in the sky. "Mr. Stark!" He shouted, but the man didn't stop, didn't even look behind him. 

"Wait up, Mr. Stark! Wait!" 

Abruptly Peter's web shooters stopped working and the boy screamed as suddenly he was falling. He was encased in pitch black darkness, his blood rushing in his ears.

Before the boy could even figure out which way was up or down, he wasn't falling anymore. He was laying on the ground, a pile of concrete crumbling on top of him. A building. Peter felt himself start to breathe quickly, his body screaming under the weight on his back. 

The boy shifted in an attempt to break free, metal and concrete digging into his shoulders and he yelped in agony, slumping against the ground. Blood ran down his hairline from an unknown injury, cold and sticky. 

As the familiar panic set in, Peter called out, "H-help!" He looked up in a feeble attempt to spot Mr. Stark flying overhead, but all he could see was darkness, suffocating and ruthless darkness. 

Everything that the Vulture had said to him replayed in his mind. The man threatened him in his car with a gun, he called him 'Pete' like they were friends and taunted the boy, and then as the building began to collapse he announced to Peter that he wasn't even aiming for him… 

"Please, someone! Help!" Peter cried as terror began to set in. 

But he knew no one was coming to save him.

\---

Peter awoke with a hard flinch, surrounded by darkness just like in his dream, the only difference being the soft fleece around his shoulders. 

The boy wildly looked around for danger, sitting up and breathing raggedly. But Toomes was nowhere to be seen. He was alone. But that thought did nothing to comfort the boy, a terrified cry leaving his lips as tears began streaming down his cheeks. 

Without any thought or awareness of his actions, Peter climbed out of bed and hurried out of his room. He didn't want to be alone, to continuously hear the Vulture's words in his head, feel the concrete surrounding him as he struggled in vain. 

The boy rushed to the elevator and mumbled for FRIDAY to take him down to the lab, where hopefully he could see his mentor. He just wanted to see him. A hug would be nice, too, but Peter didn't want to overstep. 

\---

Tony finished up in the bathroom, splashing water on his face to wake himself up more. He began heading back to the lab, stifling a yawn. "FRI," he called, looking up towards the ceiling. "What time is it?" 

"It is currently 3:45 a.m., Boss," the genius's AI responded. 

Tony nodded, not surprised it was so late (he had been up longer before), but he was interrupted from his thoughts by FRIDAY's next words. "Also, I think I should tell you that Peter is currently waiting for you in your lab." 

The man sighed, quickening his pace. Why was the kid up at this time? He definitely was going to get a long lecture. "Tell the kid I'm on my way." 

When he arrived back at his lab, Tony at first couldn't spot the boy anywhere. He wasn't at his bench working on a project like Tony assumed he would be. But then he saw Peter; the kid was curled up on the couch, his knees to his chest and his face hidden. 

His mentor opened his mouth to call out to him but faltered when it became apparent that the teen's shoulders were shaking. Tony felt his blood run cold as he rushed over to the other. 

Every possible cause for his mentee's distress raced through his mind. Had he been hurt and somehow hid it from Tony all day? Or did he secretly go patrolling? No, FRIDAY would inform Tony if that had happened, and anyways, the kid wasn't in his suit. Then what was it? What happened in the five hours since Peter went up to bed?

"Kid?" He whispered, hesitantly sitting next to Peter on the plush couch. 

Peter's hands clutched at the fabric of his pajama pants as he looked up at Tony, his eyes red and puffy. 

The man felt like he had been shot, his breath briefly catching in his throat. It was so rare for Peter to look so vulnerable. "What happened, bud?" 

More tears flooded out of the teenager's glassy brown eyes, and he murmured, "Nightmare…Sorry, I'm-," A stuttered breath. "-being a baby." 

Tony reached over to instinctively rub a hand down his back. A flood of empathy welled up in his chest, the millionaire understanding all too well how terrible nightmares could be. "No, you're not. I understand, Pete." 

Peter's eyes widened comically and he attempted once again to catch his breath enough to speak. "Really?" 

A quiet chuckle escaped him before he could stop it; the kid really looked surprised. "Yeah, I get nightmares, too. It's tough being heroes and going through the things we go through." 

Tony was surprised he was able to tell him that, but he hadn't even hesitated. He hadn't felt even a twinge of shame at that confession like he usually did when he opened up to Rhodey or Pepper. Peter was obviously in pain; Tony couldn't bring himself to care about his own discomfort. 

The kid's eyes seemed to twinkle at his mentor's words. He mouthed the word 'heroes' in awe, and Tony couldn't help a smile from breaking across his face. He opened his arms wide for the boy with a small, "C'mere, bug." and Peter sniffled before gratefully falling into the embrace. They both sat there for a couple minutes, as Tony let the teen cry to his heart's content. He couldn't even imagine what this brave kid had dreamt up to have him so scared and vulnerable. The thought had Tony's heart twist up inside his chest. 

Eventually though, the man pulled away slightly and decided it was time to address the situation. It wouldn't be fun but from his own experience, it was the best option. "Do you wanna talk about it? It'll probably help." 

Peter seemed to think about that, biting on his lip and taking deep breaths, before he nodded. "You know the Vulture?" Tony nodded, barely suppressing the urge to comment 'Of course, I'd never forget that bastard', but deciding against it. "So, um… I dream about Homecoming still sometimes, and tonight…," he swallowed hard, and Tony rubbed his back, reassuring him to continue. "I dreamed about when he dropped that building on me. A-and… I was going to die! I was alone, and y-you weren't coming…," the kid finished off with a sob as he leaned forward to press his wet face into his mentor's chest. 

"Shit, kid," Tony mumbled, holding Peter close, hoping he could comfort him through this. The man had quickly learned that when Peter was feeling truly terrible, what he really needed was physical affection. A good hug. Tony wasn't used to taking care of children, much less comforting a crying teen after a nightmare, but he would try. He would always try for Pete. "Shh, I've got you. You're safe now." 

"He's in prison now, there's no way he can hurt you again. And, Pete, I… I'm so sorry you had to go through that." Tony didn't like to think about Homecoming, when he had taken away the kid's defense and abandoned him just because he had seen too much of himself in the teen. "I shouldn't have taken the suit. It wasn't the right move on my part." 

"No, it's alright. It wasn't your fault," Peter mumbled, clearly sounding so incredibly exhausted but still worried about the genius anyway. What did Tony do to deserve this kid as his mentee? 

In lieu of a response, he hugged the boy impossibly closer, hoping to somehow squeeze the kid's fears away. 

"Mr. Stark?" Peter spoke against the fabric of Tony's shirt a moment later when his cries had reduced to sniffles. 

"Yeah, kiddo?" 

"Thank you." 

Tony smiled, tilting the kid's chin up so their eyes met. "This is nothing. And, ya know what?" Peter hummed. "If you have another nightmare like this, you can tell me. And maybe if you're so worried, I'll come with you on patrol to make sure nothing as awful as Homecoming happens again." He hoped the (mostly) joke would lighten the kid's mood. 

And sure enough, Peter giggled at the thought of Iron Man flying through the streets of Queens and blasting muggers, his brown eyes crinkling. Tony rewarded his laughter with a warm smile, giving the boy one last squeeze before he stood up, guiding his mentee with him. "Let's get to bed, Pete."

Peter nodded sleepily, and followed the man up, asking softly, "You're going to sleep, too, right? You shouldn't stay up the whole night." His eyes looked worriedly into Tony's, and the genius found it heartwarming that this kid would be concerned with his mentor's health right after a horrible nightmare. 

"'Course. Pepper will be glad I'm coming to bed this early." Lately Tony has been having more frequent all-nighters. At least the reason is because of how much inspiration he's had and not because of anything concerning. 

"Mm. Good." He seemed satisfied with that answer, nodding to himself. They both stopped outside of Peter's bedroom door, the teen walking in before turning around with a smile. "G'night, Mr. Stark." 

Tony pulled him in for another quick hug in an effort to calm any leftover nightmare jitters before murmuring, "Goodnight, bug."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bug is definitely one of my favorite nicknames :')))


	4. Itsy Bitsy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing a multi-chapter story so idk if I'm updating too quick hehe  
> This chapter is pure fluff!!  
> Enjoy <3

"Mr. Stark! Stop eating all of them!" Peter reprimanded as his mentor popped another chocolate kiss into his mouth. 

Not even a minute later, a very un-sneaky hand slowly reached for the bowl of kisses again, Peter fixing Tony with a glare and lightly slapping his hand away. 

They had both spent the morning working on a project in the lab. It had become a comforting staple in Peter's life, the room usually filled with rock music (because of Peter's super hearing it was turned down to a quieter tone) and boisterous laughter, as ideas were discussed and tools were passed back and forth. 

When they finished up, Peter worked hard to convince Tony to watch a movie with him and bake some cookies. The activities were usually tradition with him and May when they both had days off to spend together, so the kid was excited to form similar memories with his mentor. It would be a good bonding experience for the two of them. And, well, Peter was really craving peanut butter cookies. 

Peter had mentioned the cookies to Tony, watching as the genius went to the penthouse kitchen and promptly pulled out a pristine book of recipes (Peter assumed the book was never opened, most likely just bought as an accessory). They flipped through and found a recipe for 'peanut butter blossoms', the cookies the teen was remembering from years ago. 

After many staredowns with a set of puppy-dog eyes, Tony relented and let Peter choose the movie. 

"It better not be a Disney one." 

Peter chose a Disney one. Moana, to be exact. The teen claimed it was the perfect princess movie: not too cheesy, well-done animation, and of course - beautiful songs. Even then, Tony wasn't too thrilled with the choice and he planned to sleep through it. 

As Peter finished up whisking the batter, the strong smell of peanut butter filling the room, he clutched the bowl of chocolate kisses to his chest protectively, pointedly giving his mentor the stink eye.

A chuckle slipped past Tony's mouth against his will when he saw the kid's stance. "Alright, my help isn't needed. I get it," he feigned a hurt look with a dramatic pout. 

"You're not even helping! You're just eating everything, Mr. Stark," Peter called as Tony walked over to the couch to set up the movie. 

When all he received as an answer was a fake downtrodden sigh, the teen turned back to his work and started forming the cookies, neatly placing a chocolate kiss in the center of each of them. After he finished with the first batch, he popped them in the oven and quickly made the next just to be prepared. 

"Come on over or I'll start the movie without you, kid!" 

"No, you won't." Peter plopped onto the couch next to his mentor anyway.

The movie began playing and Peter was immediately enraptured, his eyes gleaming. Only a couple minutes in found the kid leaning into Tony as the man brought his hand up to run it through his curls. They both found the action to be soothing, Peter just in general loving physical affection and Tony enjoying the feel of the teen's soft brown hair running through his fingers. 

It was unintentional, just a slight shifting of the millionaire's hand against the side of Pete's neck, but it was enough to have the kid squeak and flinch rather embarrassingly. He looked up to see if his mentor noticed, and sure enough he was staring down at the kid with a grin. 

"Pete, are you ticklish?" 

A blush spread up Peter's face as he furiously shook his head side to side. "Nope!" 

"Hmm… really? 'Cause it sure sounded like it." 

"Uhh… No, I don't know what you mean, sorry!" 

Before Peter had a second to prepare, wriggling fingers were tickling at his neck and armpits in alternation. He squirmed in a half-hearted attempt to escape, laughter bubbling up out of him. His mentor chuckled along with him, the boy's laughter contagious and honestly adorable. 

A loud ringtone cut through the joyous moment causing them both to pause. Peter caught his breath as Tony pulled his hands away and checked his phone. 

"Gimme one second, kiddo." 

Peter gave a thumbs up in response watching as Tony paused the movie and got up to answer his Starkpad a couple yards away. 

"Hey, Pep." The boy didn't mean to eavesdrop, he swears, it's just hard to avoid listening when you have super hearing. 

"Tony, why aren't you here? Everyone's waiting for you. Your presence is vital at this meeting," Pepper's voice reprimanded from the other side of the line. She sounded extremely annoyed but honestly not too surprised.

Tony cringed. "Oh, I bet it'll go even better with you in my place, Pep." 

"No, Tony," she sounded exasperated. "We were both supposed to be at the meeting. Are you coming or not?" 

Tony pursed his lips in thought, before sighing. "Sorry, no can do. I'm watching a movie with the kid right now." 

There was a slight silence on the other line before Pepper murmured sympathetically, "Alright, but you better make it up to me." Peter's stomach did a weird thing when he thought about the way Pepper knew without hesitation who Tony meant when he said 'the kid'. Was he becoming that big a part of their lives?

"I will. See ya later, Pep." 

Peter leaped up to grab the cookies from the oven in an effort to not look as though he had been snooping on the conversation. 

His mentor's words replayed again and again in his mind. He had decided to not go to the meeting so that he could spend time with Peter. That meant somehow time spent with Peter was important to Tony Stark and that warmed the teen's heart. 

The two of them had been getting closer, more open with each other recently. Peter was happy with their mentor/mentee relationship but he couldn't help but wish for something more. He thought about how Mr. Stark took care of him when he was hurt or sick, comforted him when he was feeling vulnerable, and worried about him when he was out too late patrolling. It reminded him of what little experience with family he had with May and Uncle Ben. 

Peter shook his wandering thoughts away. He couldn't imagine Tony feeling the same way. The genius didn't need Peter to be his family, he needed him to be his mentee and to be Spider-Man. Peter shouldn't hope for any more than that, shouldn't hope for a father. 

When he returned to the couch to find the man scrolling on his Starkpad waiting for him to unpause the movie, Peter didn't think twice about squishing close to his side. Tony jumped in surprise at the contact before quickly melting, a soft smile directed at his mentee as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

"Who was it?" Peter pretended not to already know. 

"It was Pepper. Nothing important, don't worry about it, Itsy Bitsy."

"Itsy Bitsy?" That was a new one. "Mr. Stark, I'm not small! Or… 'itsy'!" Peter directed a false pout up at his mentor, secretly not minding the nickname one bit. It was definitely one that could only be for Peter and that made him feel special. 

"Nah, I think it suits you."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Does not!" 

"Okay, I'm not doing this," Tony stated with a chuckle, turning his attention back to the movie. 

Peger quickly did the same, smiling at how at ease they both were with each other. It was nice to have another adult in his life that he could trust other than May. And she hadn't seemed to mind at all with how close the both of them were getting. She said it was healthy for Peter to be able to rely on more than one person, and even though she wouldn't have admitted to it months ago, now she truly could say with confidence that Tony was a good influence on Peter.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Moana breaking out into song on the TV. Peter grinned and sat up straighter, singing along loudly and completely out of tune. A rumble could be felt against the boy's side as Tony quietly laughed at his antics. 

"It's a Disney movie, Mr. Stark! May and I have a rule that if it's a Disney movie, you have to sing along." A bright eyed look was tossed the older man's way. 

Tony rolled his eyes and after a good minute of no singing from his mentor as Peter insisted repeatedly, a soft hum was supplied to match the tune of the song. "Okay, I'll take that. Progress is progress I guess," Peter remarked, cutting off his own boisterous singing.

Tony caught one glance at the toothy grin the boy's face lit up with, and couldn't help but to squeeze him a tad bit more to his side with a small smile. 

A chime went off in the kitchen from the oven timer, causing Peter to jump up and flip unnecessarily through the air in his excitement. Tony's heart faintly stuttered at the action, the kid's enhanced hearing picking up on the sound. What an old man. 

"Be careful!"

"Oh, come on, I'm Spider-Man, Mr. Stark! I'm, like… the flip master." 

After taking the last batch out of the oven, Peter grabbed himself a nearly cool cookie. They were perfect like this when the chocolate kiss was still melty. 

"Would the flip master care to fetch a cookie for his mentor as well?" Tony called out with a smirk. 

Peter snatched up another, before returning to the couch and handing the man his cookie. "These are pretty good, Pete," Tony muttered around a mouthful. "I think Pepper would be a fan." Peter smiled wide at the praise.

They both got cozy on the couch for the rest of the movie, the taste of peanut butter and chocolate lingering in their mouths, as Tony ran his fingers through the kid's hair. Occasionally Tony would call Peter 'Itsy Bitsy' to annoy the boy (that was going to become a favorite, wasn't it?) and ask him to grab him another cookie. Peter eventually brought a plate of them over, growing annoyed of the back and forth. When the credits began rolling, Tony announced that it actually had been a decent movie as far as Disney films went. Peter was ecstatic. 

They ordered a pizza afterward and reflecting back on the evening while munching on a slice, Peter definitely saw it as a win for mentor/mentee (father/son) bonding.


	5. Son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a little bit of research before this but I'm not a doctor soooo there might be some inaccuracies!  
> Enjoy chapter 5! The last chapter is already written so it'll be up soon :)

Initially when Peter had been told that Tony needed an appendectomy, he was terrified. 

Why did he have appendicitis at his age? What was the surgery going to be like? Would there be any complications because of his heart condition? What if Tony had been hiding the symptoms for way too long? Could Peter visit him soon after the surgery? 

These worries raced around in his head when he was driven over to the Tower by Happy that Thursday after school. Happy hardly seemed nervous at all when he informed him of Tony's situation, which only did a little to ease the teen's fears. 

What if everyone else just wasn't worried enough? What if this really was a big deal? Peter's thoughts spiralled into full-blown panic as intrusive memories of finding his uncle bleeding out resurfaced. He couldn't bear to lose Tony. To lose another father figure. Even if the boy would never admit to it out loud, that's what he was to Peter: a father figure, a parental figure, family.

"Kid? We're here." Peter was brought back to reality by Happy's words. The man was giving him a look in the rear-view mirror, one that barely concealed his concern. 

The teen reached for the door handle but was stopped as he was addressed again. "He's gonna be alright, kid."

Peter attempted a smile meant to ease Happy's concerns but it probably just ended up looking like a grimace. He exited the car, and right when he stood in front of the Tower entrance, his adrenaline kicked in, the boy sprinting to get to the MedBay. He ignored FRIDAY's greeting, his mind set on getting to his mentor's side and making sure he was okay. 

He faltered when he saw May and Pepper sat outside one of the hospital rooms, both of the women smiling and sharing a pleasant conversation. Were they not worried? 

"Peter!" May called as she spotted him and pat the chair next to her. 

The teen hesitated, his gaze fixed on the door across from them. Pepper seemed to understand his worries, because she stood up and patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile. 

"Is, is he…?" The stuttered, nonsensical phrase left Peter's mouth before he could stop it. 

"The surgery's almost done. And then we can visit him not too long afterward," Pepper told him, her grounding gaze fixed to his. She led him over to the chairs, where he sat next to May and fiddled with his hoodie sleeves. 

After a beat of anxious silence, May gently took his hands in hers, and watched as some of the tension left his shoulders. It was going to be okay. They understood his worry. He wasn't alone. 

Happy joined them in the hall as Peter and May googled appendicitis on May's cell phone and researched for the next 10 minutes to pass the time. It helped to ease Pete's nerves and remind him that this was a common surgery. 1 in 20 people went through this. Tony would be back to normal in around 2 weeks. He wasn't going to lose anyone else close to him today. 

Dr. Cho eventually emerged from the room, a smile on her face as she explained that everything had gone smoothly and that when Tony woke up, they could visit him. Though only one person at a time was allowed to see him. 

Pepper went in first, leaving Peter to wait, shaking his knee uncontrollably and playing with the zipper of his hoodie. He felt his thoughts begin to spiral with worry again, even though he understood they were unreasonable. He almost jumped in surprise when May began rubbing soothingly at his arm. Without saying anything she was able to convey her message to Peter: everything would be alright. 

Peter was glad he had May with him. She understood his fears and didn't belittle them. She knew how important Tony was to Peter.

It felt like forever before Pepper finally opened the door, sending Peter a soft smile. "Your turn, sweetheart." 

The boy was up before she could finish, shakily making his way to the door and entering after taking a deep breath. 

Tony sat in the hospital bed with a blanket on his lap, his back against the headboard. He didn't appear any different than he normally did, save for the slightly faraway look in his dark eyes. The man's gaze immediately snapped to Peter as the kid closed the door behind him and shuffled over. He smiled when Peter awkwardly sat in the plastic chair set up next to the bed, fumbling before looking up at his mentor with worry. "H-how are you feeling, Mr. Stark?" 

"'m good, Pete," Tony mumbled, his eyes never leaving the boy's nervous face. "How was school?" 

Peter was caught off guard by the question, and the slightly slurred tone of his mentor. Wow, they must have had him on the good stuff. Did he even know that he just got out of surgery? "Um, it was fine. You, you know, the usual. I had a chem test today. Um, the one you helped me study for." Peter didn't even notice when he started rambling. "I think it went okay. I made plans with Ned for this weekend. He got a new Lego set. Oh, and uh, Flash was a jerk as usual, but-" Oh, maybe he shouldn't have brought him up. "-it's uh, it's okay." 

A peak up at his mentor and away from his fidgeting hands showed the man's brows furrowing. "I don't like that Flash kid, Pete. Tell m' if he ever crosses a line, 'kay? Actually… what's his number?" 

Peter quickly shook his head, a small smile breaking across his face at Tony's loopiness. "No, no, it's alright! I've got it handled. You trust me, right?" 

Tony's eyes widened comically as though Pete had accused him of something horribly unspeakable. "'Course I trust you, son! Don'... Don' ever think I don' trust you…" The faraway look returned to his eyes, as though he was completely lost as to what the two were even talking about.

But that word kept replaying in Peter's head, causing his breath to stutter. 'Son'? Did Tony just call him his son? What was the boy supposed to make of that? Should he ask him what he meant or pretend like he hadn't heard him? 

When Tony looked at him again, there was a tenderness in his eyes. He patted the spot next to him on the hospital bed, scooching over a tad. "C'mere, Pete." 

Peter flushed, shaking his head. His mentor was really not acting like himself, much more open and less hesitant with affection. It was unnerving to say the least. "No, I'm good! You're recovering, Mr. Stark, you need the whole bed." 

Tony reached over and yanked on his wrist, the drugs making his grip quite weak. He pouted and Peter honestly couldn't tell if it was dramatically fake or very real. "Please? I need a Peter Hug." 

And, god, could he really say 'no' to that? A chuckle escaped his lips at his mentor's theatrics, as Peter sat at Tony's side on the bed and was immediately encased in a tight hug. It was like any other hug from Tony: strong, warm, and it made the boy feel safe. He was rewarded with a sigh of contentment when he returned the hug, glad to be able to wrap his arms around the man. 

Tony was alright, and that fact was made even more aware to Pete as he felt warm fingers start to scratch at his scalp in a familiar, comforting motion. Tony was alright, and he wasn't going anywhere. 

Peter sniffled, only now aware that he had been tearing up into Tony's shoulder, the man pulling away to inspect him with concern. "Oh, Petey…" He reached up to brush away the teen's tears and the action was so incredibly parental that it burned. The boy wished it were true, that he had really called him 'son' without the drugs, the delirium. But he probably wouldn't even remember he said it. 

"Did you get hurt?" For some reason, that was the conclusion Tony came to. The man looked around at their surroundings, actually seeing them for the first time. "Is… Is tha' why we're here…?" A snort escaped Peter's mouth unintentionally. Wow, his mentor must be really far gone. 

Peter shook his head, quick to ease Tony's fears. "Nah, I'm fine, don't worry. That's not why we're here." He decided against telling Tony about his surgery, not wanting to startle the other man. He'd figure it out when the drugs wore off.

Mr. Stark nodded, satisfied with his answer, and kept one arm flung around the teen's shoulders as he settled back against the headboard. "Maybe take a nap, Mr. Stark? You still seem tired." 

"Mm. Okay." A yawn. "Thanks, son. For - for the hug." 

There was that word again. The word that somehow warmed Peter's heart while simultaneously scaring the shit out of him. He desperately wanted to believe that Mr. Stark meant it when he called him that, that they were really like family. That Peter had a father again. But how did he ask him if his words were genuine, when the man probably wouldn't even remember this conversation in a couple hours? 

At least for now it was nice to know that the snoring in his ear was real and that the warmth against his side was real. He could figure out the rest later.


	6. Dad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! Beware, it's very soft :))
> 
> I've been so stressed lately and writing this story the past week has rly lifted my spirits and helped me feel creatively fulfilled :') 
> 
> Thanks for reading all the way through, I'm so glad to contribute another fic to this sweet little Irondad corner in the MCU fandom!  
> Enjoy!! <3

The gift inside Peter's backpack weighs down on him the whole school day. 

It's Mr. Stark's birthday today and Peter would be coming over for a lab day after school. The man didn't want to do anything extravagant this year, opting to not even have a party. But he still cancelled everything he had scheduled for today to spend time with Pepper and Rhodey during the day, and Peter during the evening. 

Tony had reminded the boy over and over again that he didn't need to get him a present ("I know money's tight, kid, so all I'm asking for is your company, capiche?"), but Peter wanted to. He had searched online for the perfect gift, and after coming up blank, he knew he had to give the man something only he could give him. It had to be special. It had to have meaning. 

Peter at first decided to write a letter. Maybe after he wrote down his thoughts, then he could choose a gift. 

As the teen stumbled over ideas for days, it became apparent that he couldn't avoid the one present he really wanted to give to Tony: his feelings. His open, honest feelings. He wanted to express to his mentor how important the man was to Peter and how he saw him as a father figure. 

It was terrifying. What if he was rejected? What if it turned out Tony only saw him as an intern, as Spider-Man? But deep down, Peter wasn't ignorant. He knew he was important to Tony and he knew that even if his mentor didn't share his view of their relationship, he wouldn't treat Peter harshly. The man called him his son for goodness' sake! That had to count for something, even if Peter was too afraid to take those words seriously because of Tony's drugged-up state at the time.

So with a shaky hand and stubborn determination, Peter wrote out his letter for Tony. When he finished, he sealed it away and refused to look at it, his nerves aflame. 

Now he needed a gift. Peter pulled up the tab on his phone where he had been browsing earlier at Spider-Man themed merchandise. He thought one of the pajama sets would be a funny present, but now the idea just made him cringe. Nope, that's not right. He opened a new tab, and hesitantly typed in 'gifts for dads'. Might as well go all out. 

So now here Peter was, his present tucked away in his backpack, as he sat through boring high school classes and attempted to focus. It seemed like the more he waited, the more anxious he got. He was glad when lunch rolled around and he could distract himself by chatting with Ned. 

"Dude, the last problem on the calc test made no sense!" 

"I bet you were just trying to solve it with the wrong theorem," Peter explained. He took out a sheet of notebook paper and a pencil to show his work. 

Ned groaned, lightly smacking his own forehead. "Of course! Ugh, I'm such an idiot!" 

"Yeah, you are," MJ announced as she sat down next to them, setting her tray of food and notebook down. 

Ned gave her a glare, but otherwise he made no move to respond to her. Instead he leaned forward and sent an intense stare Peter's way in anticipation. 

Peter looked around confused. "Uh what?"

"C'mon, dude!" Ned whispered conspiratorially. "What's in your backpack?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I've seen you opening your backpack and staring at something inside of it all day! It's so obvious, dude," Ned wiggled his brows. "What is it?" 

MJ was staring at the two of them, her bored expression doing nothing to mask her curiosity. 

Peter sighed. "Alright, alright." He reached inside his bag and pulled out the present, messily wrapped in red with a card taped to the top. "It's uh… Mr. Stark's birthday today." 

The boy went into an explanation of his present, flushing the whole way. He had spoken to Ned about how Tony was like a guardian/a parental figure, but he never really explained his feelings or went into detail. And he'd never even talked about Tony to MJ before, so she was probably surprised. Maybe she hadn't even believed he really interned there before.

"So uh… I guess I've just been really nervous about how he's going to react," Peter murmured, fidgeting in his seat. 

Ned and MJ exchanged a glance before Ned smiled at him encouragingly. "Peter, I think it's obvious he cares a lot about you. If it's any consolation, he reminds me of my own dad!" 

"R-really?"

"Yeah, dude! He picks you up from school when you're sick, he worries when you get hurt, and you stay up late watching movies together! And remember when he came to our decathlon competition?" 

Peter nodded. He remembered. Tony came to see his team compete, sitting with May and all the other kid's parents/guardians. It made Peter more nervous, but it also meant a lot to him when he would look into the crowd and see both May and Tony smiling encouragingly back at him. Of course, they had won that competition. 

"That's definitely important, Peter." 

Peter frowned. Ned was right but what if…? "What if I'm putting too much pressure on him?" 

MJ fixed him with a strong stare, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Didn't you say he called you his son, Peter?" 

She wasn't wrong, but Peter always chose to just play that off as the drugs clouding Tony's mind. He went to tell MJ that, and was stopped by the stony look she was giving him. "I think you need to go for it. Peter, you deserve a father figure in your life if that's what you want. What's the worst that could happen?"

Peter thought about it, knowing that maybe Mr. Stark would tell him he didn't see their relationship that way. And then what? He couldn't imagine him getting angry at Peter or dropping the internship. He was too kind for that. 

"Thanks, guys," Peter mumbled, putting his things away and zipping his bag shut. His friends both gave him soft smiles, though MJ's was a little harder to detect. He was glad he had friends who supported him and knew what was best for him. 

\---

The whole ride to the Tower had Peter drumming his fingers on the seat of the car, anxiously waiting for their arrival. It wasn't difficult for Happy to notice, the man calling out behind him, "Kid, are you alright?" He could tell he was trying to show he didn't really care, but his words betrayed him. 

"Y-yeah!" Wow, that really was not convincing. 

Happy didn't seem to care that much because he grunted and returned his attention to the road. Peter hesitantly piped up, "Um have you seen Mr. Stark today yet, Happy?" 

The man raised an eyebrow in the rear view mirror. "Of course. It's his birthday. I saw him earlier today." 

"Oh, okay."

He must have sensed Peter's hesitation because Happy continued, "He seemed excited for your lab day." 

"He did?" 

"Yup."

And Peter definitely felt better, grinning the whole way to the Tower.

\---

When Peter started making his way up to the lab, his anxiety sky-rocketed again. He paced around the Tower, doing everything he could to stall. But eventually he knew he couldn't anymore, he didn't want to be suspiciously late. 

The elevator seemed to move slower than usual, Peter clutching his bag to his chest and counting each floor that he passed. 

A 'ding!' announced his arrival, the doors opening to show Mr. Stark set to work on some modifications to a car engine. 

Peter swallowed hard and attempted to greet his mentor with an even tone, "Hi, Mr. Stark!" He shakily sat down at his bench a couple yards away with a chirpy, "Happy birthday!" 

Tony turned to him with a wide smile. "Hey, kid. How are you?" 

Peter set his bag down gently on the desk. "I-I'm good." Why did he stutter?! "Boring classes as always." 

His mentor's smile turned into a proud grin at that. "That's my smart spiderling!" Peter felt himself blush at the praise as the man walked over to ruffle his hair.

"Mr. Staaark," Peter whined. His attempt to fix his unruly curls was futile. Tony chuckled and sat back down at his spot.

They both worked in content silence, Peter on his homework and Tony on his car. At least it appeared content on the outside, but the boy was silently having a breakdown. He really shouldn't have written that letter or bought that gift. What if things become awkward between them? Peter couldn't bear to lose another father figure - whether Tony knew that's what he was to Peter or not. 

Peter stared down at his chemistry homework, the same problem staring back at him for the past 5 minutes. Apparently, Tony wasn't as dense as Peter thought, because it didn't take too long for his mentor to turn to him and call out, "Pete? What's up?" 

Startled, Peter dropped his mechanical pencil, the sound deafening to the enhanced teen in the quiet lab. He flinched before fastily answering, "Nothing! What do you mean?" 

Tony wheeled his chair over so he was only a couple feet away from Peter and raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Usually you're talking up a storm about anything and everything. What's got you so quiet?" His expression turned serious. "Is someone causing you problems at school? You know you can talk to me about that stuff, kid." 

"No, everything's fine at school!" Peter was quick to reassure. "I'm fine." 

As Tony continued to give him a questioning look, not at all buying his lies, Peter sighed in defeat. Well, he has to give his gift to him at some point, right? 

Peter opened up his backpack and brought out the present. He could feel Tony's gaze on him the whole time. Avoiding eye contact, the boy raised it in front of him for his mentor to take. 

"Pete, I told you that you didn't need to buy me anything." 

The gift was extended further towards Tony, the man sighing and accepting it. "Um, r-read the card first," Peter stuttered. 

The teen stared down at his hands in his lap, the sound of shifting paper reaching his ears. Oh god, he was reading it. Tony Stark was reading Peter's embarrassing letter. The words he wrote had been swimming in his head for so long that he had memorized them by heart. 

-

Mr. Stark,

Happy birthday :) You're kinda old now… Just kidding! 

So… I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you how important you are to me! I've never had a mentor this generous and kind and I'm still sometimes shocked you chose me! Well, I've never had a mentor before, but you know what I mean. Thank you so much for being a part of my life!!! 

P.S. You're not just a good mentor. You're a really good father figure as well.

-Peter

-

Was Tony going to laugh at him? Was he questioning right now how his intern could even think to write a letter like this? Wait, was Peter crossing a line? Would he be fired? No, he already decided Tony would never do that, but what if he did? What if Peter scared him? 

He needed to explain himself, right? Peter couldn't just leave it at that. If he was going to be kicked out, then Peter needed to fully explain his feelings. He couldn't leave anything unsaid. 

Still staring down at his now shaky hands, Peter began to speak quietly, "U-um, so… I know this is out of nowhere. I'm sorry if it's too much of a burden for you. I-it must sound weird. But I really do see you as… a father, Mr. Stark." He sucked in a shaky breath. "Lately you've been very parental with me a-and it feels like how a father would act. I guess I don't really know exactly what that would be. Uh… Uncle Ben was never really a father figure for me, b-but he loved me a lot! I-it just wasn't like that. But I've been seeing you as my dad a lot more recently. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we were father and son and… I-I like the thought of it."

Peter paused. When he didn't get a response immediately, he felt tears fill his eyes and he squeezed them closed. "Y-you called me 'son' after you got your appendix out… but you probably don't remember and that's fine! If you don't see me that way t-then it's alright…" A tear slipped down his cheek. "We can pretend I didn't say anything. Um… I'm s-sorry." 

God, he was such a mess. This must be so embarrassing for Tony. What was Peter even doing? When the silence continued for a couple more seconds, Peter hesitantly looked up for the first time. 

He definitely didn't see what he thought he would see. Tony was staring at him with wide, slightly misty eyes, and a small, hesitant smile was slowly stretching across his lips. "M-Mr. Stark?" Peter whispered. He didn't know what to make of his mentor's expression. 

Abruptly Tony stood up and crossed the small space in between them to gently pull Peter to his feet and crush the boy in a warm hug. Startled, Peter blinked for a second or two, before fisting his hands in the back of Tony's hoodie. He blushed when a whimper broke past his lips as he began sobbing. All of his anxiety washed away and he was filled with overwhelming relief, crying against Tony's chest. 

Meanwhile, Tony rocked them back and forth and ran his fingers though Peter's chocolate curls. The man murmured, "There's nothing to be sorry for, kiddo. I'd be honored to have you as my son." 

"You sure?" Peter's voice cracked when he whispered, his lips brushing against the fabric of Tony's hoodie. 

His mentor held Peter's face in his hands, having him look into his eyes. "Pete, I've felt like you were my kid for awhile now, but, well, I guess I was too much of a scaredy cat to tell you." His thumbs gently wiped away the tear tracks on Peter's red cheeks. "Thank you for opening up to me, kid. This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten. By far." 

Peter grinned wide and smooshed his face against Tony's chest again. The pair stood there hugging for a few more minutes, Peter's tears eventually coming to a stop. 

Peter suddenly gasped and pulled back, sending a blinding smile Tony's way as he grabbed the red present that was left unopened. "You forgot this!" 

"Oh yeah. Sorry, bud." Tony took it and began unwrapping the gift. Peter rocked on his heels impatiently. His father's eyes widened as he held up the T-shirt he had given him. It was simple - a black shirt with the words 'World's Best Dad' emblazoned on the front. 

Tony's mouth opened and closed comically for a second before he burst into a fit of loud cackling. Peter grinned and joined in, giggling softly. 

"Sooo, do you like it, dad?" Peter wondered if it was too soon to call him that. But his fears were quickly expelled as Tony broke out into a huge smile, his eyes soft as he pulled Peter into another hug. 

"I love it, kiddo." 

Tony went into the bathroom to change into the shirt right away, and upon Peter's request the two of them took photos together ("So we can remember this moment forever!"). They both looked absolutely nerdy, and it was obvious from Peter's red eyes that he had been crying. But they were special nonetheless. Yep. One of those pictures was definitely going to be Peter's lockscreen for his phone (little did he know, Tony had the same plan). 

They went up to the penthouse for the rest of the night, ordered lots and lots of Thai food, and cuddled on the couch watching Star Wars. Peter was finding it hard to stay awake, exhausted from his anxiety earlier, but he managed to call May and ask her if he could sleepover at the Tower that night (she replied 'yes' without hesitation and then wished Tony a happy birthday). 

Eventually, Peter drifted into unconsciousness, practically on his father's lap, his face pressed into the crook of his neck. He awoke to find himself tucked in bed, Tony obviously having just brought him up because the man was halfway out the door when his eyes drifted open. "'Night, dad… Love you," the sleepy teen managed to murmur. 

Tony's eyes met his own in the dark and they were filled with so much tenderness Peter thought he might melt. "Sleep tight, bambino. I love you, too. So much." That was a new one. Peter liked the sound of it. 'Bambino'.

"Mm. Love you more."

Peter heard a warm chuckle. "Love you most."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3<3<3


End file.
